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How I buy time when I don't know, soften opinions shaped by bias, and hold my ground when it actually matters.

Buying Time, Choosing Words: Consulting Through Diplomatic Communication

How I buy time when I don’t know, soften opinions shaped by bias, and hold my ground when it actually matters.

thoughtbot.com

AI-generated code may be new. Inheriting a codebase you don't fully trust isn't. Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum discuss why human oversight and understanding what you're building on still matter.

YNAB started as a spreadsheet and became a 20-year lesson in product, leadership, and money. In Episode 618 of Giant Robots, Jesse Mecham shares what changed along the way, what didn’t, and why being willing to rethink things matters. www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91A...

From Vancouver to Amsterdam, thoughtbotters are on the road this fall.

thoughtbot around the world, meet us at upcoming events

From Vancouver to Amsterdam, thoughtbotters are on the road this fall.

thoughtbot.com

The easiest thing to measure in software development is how much code gets written. The hardest things to measure are clarity, maintainability, and good engineering judgment. In this conversation, @Emma Barnes reflects on why those became the priorities that mattered most.

Status starts as a column. Then someone asks "who was denied last Tuesday?" and the schema can't answer. Model each status change as its own row from the start, without sacrificing read performance.

Modeling State Transitions in Postgres

Status starts as a column. Then someone asks “who was denied last Tuesday?” and the schema can’t answer. Model each status change as its own row from the start, without sacrificing read performance.

thoughtbot.com

Excited to be teaming up with our friends at Bubble! Don't miss this session for new founders featuring thoughtbot Design Director Vendela Colavecchio and Bubble Growth Marketing Lead Emmelie De La Cruz. Let's talk about when to ship and why. Register to join us here: luma.com/acpli38w?tk=...

“Agentic AI is making developers lazy.” A spicy take from Rakesh that gets more nuanced pretty quickly. If AI is writing more of the code, maybe the bigger question is where developers put their attention instead. #ai #lazycoders #thoughtbot

Sometimes “basic” is exactly what you need. In this clip from The Bike Shed, we revisit HTTP basic auth, why developers tend to move on to more sophisticated approaches, and when the simplest tool might still be the right one.

We're releasing Humid 1.0. A few helper methods to help with React server-side rendering in Rails with mini_racer.

Humid 1.0: React server-side rendering in Rails can be easy!

We’re releasing Humid 1.0. A few helper methods to help with React server-side rendering in Rails with mini_racer.

thoughtbot.com

There isn’t just 1 gender story when it comes to AI. Dr. Victoria Plutshack explores how gender shows up across AI adoption, labor, online harms, and even opposition to data centers. “There’s gender aspects to all of it.” #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #WomenInTech

Good developer experience isn't always about the framework. Sometimes it's the tools around it that make all the difference. For Sally Hall, React Hook Form was one of those tools.

Most organizations prototype too late. The best prototypes aren't built to validate software, they're built to create alignment. Especially in regulated industries, a prototype is the fastest way to replace assumptions with evidence and make better decisions.

A prototype is not a product. It's a conversation.

Most organizations prototype too late. The best prototypes aren’t built to validate software, they’re built to create alignment. Especially in regulated industries, a prototype is the fastest way...

thoughtbot.com

Lawyers might seem like unlikely early adopters of AI. In this episode of Giant Robots, Joe Cohen shares why firms are seeing 80–85% adoption, and why “law is the profession of language.” podcast.thoughtbot.com/615

168 healthcare tech leaders were surveyed on software delivery. 68% say speed and risk are in constant tension. We broke down what's really behind it and what separates innovative teams from the rest.

New: The State of Software Delivery in Healthcare

168 healthcare tech leaders were surveyed on software delivery. 68% say speed and risk are in constant tension. We broke down what’s really behind it and what separates innovative teams from the rest.

thoughtbot.com

Claude Design can be a useful starting point, but the defaults are easy to spot. Serif fonts. Beige and orange. Emoji icons. Familiar copy patterns. The interesting work starts after generation: refining the design, improving the content, and making it yours.

Trust in a codebase isn't built by proving it's perfect. It's built by understanding how it works, where it falls short, and why. Chad Pytel and Sami Birnbaum discuss why AI can help uncover problems, but good engineering still depends on understanding the systems behind them.

Modern Sign in with Google for React Native using Android's Credential Manager, the GoogleSignIn-iOS SDK, and a first-party Expo config plugin. TypeScript-first.

Modern Sign in with Google for React Native using Android’s Credential Manager, the GoogleSignIn-iOS SDK, and a first-party Expo config plugin. TypeScript-first.

thoughtbot.com

For a long time, time was the easiest way to measure value. Joe Cohen argues that AI is changing that equation. A thoughtful conversation about legal AI, professional services, and what happens when efficiency no longer tells the whole story. podcast.thoughtbot.com/615

Join us July 30 for an animated discussion on the challenges and strategies for working with healthcare systems. We're bringing together leaders from Merck and thoughtbot to share different perspectives on reducing risk while continuing to innovate. Register today: thoughtbot.com/events/secur...

AI can help you ship a prototype in a weekend, but it won't tell you if you're building the right thing. We talked to founders who use AI tools every day to find out where it actually helps, and where it can quietly hurt you.

What founders told us about working with AI tools for startups

AI can help you ship a prototype in a weekend, but it won’t tell you if you’re building the right thing. We talked to founders who use AI tools every day to find out where it actually helps, and where...

thoughtbot.com

The best engineering conversations often start with, "I don't think that's actually true." Aji Slater revisits a story from an earlier episode and ends up uncovering something even more interesting.

Good engineering starts with good questions. As AI continues to evolve, thoughtbot's AI Ethics Task Force is exploring the tradeoffs, challenging assumptions, and helping shape how we think about AI in software development.